Tayto Park

The park

Tayto Park, near Ashbourne in County Meath, is Ireland’s only theme park — and it shares the same ground as the country’s only park zoo, which makes it a proper day out rather than a half-day. It opened in 2010, on a fifty-five-acre site developed by a local entrepreneur, and it has grown into a place with more than forty-five rides and attractions spread across the grounds. In January 2023 the park was rebranded as Emerald Park when the Tayto name partnership ended; most people still call it Tayto Park, and the old name is the one you will hear on the road.

The rides

The rides run from gentle family coasters to the park’s headline attraction, the Cú Chulainn rollercoaster — a steel ride just over a kilometre long that gives the park most of its reputation. There are water rides in the warmer months, and a good spread of smaller rides for younger children, which is what makes the place work for families with a mix of ages.

The zoo

The zoo runs through the park rather than beside it: big cats, giraffes and a range of smaller animals, with feeding sessions on most open days. It is the reason a visit can stretch from an afternoon to a full day, and it is the part that works best on a grey day.

When to go

The park runs a seasonal calendar, with the longest runs through the summer and the school holidays, and summer weekends and the holiday periods are the busiest. It is usually open from about ten in the morning to five in the afternoon on operating days — check the official calendar before you travel, because it is a long drive from most bases.

Practical

Entry is ticketed; family tickets and online booking are available, and booking ahead is usually cheaper and skips the queue. Parking is on site. Allow two to three hours for the rides, or a full day if you do the zoo. The nearest proper town is Drogheda, about thirty minutes away, and Dublin is about forty minutes by car — a day trip is a sensible option for people based in the capital.